'Pratt Street Patio' Closes Downtown Hartford Street To Cars

Traffic is up on Pratt Street, the brick-paved artery cutting through the downtown business district.

Foot traffic, that is. A boost that can be directly attributed to a decrease in the other kind of traffic. And, even in the span of two weeks, business owners on the thoroughfare say they're reaping the benefits.

Since May 1, Pratt Street has been closed to motor vehicles every weekday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., except for Friday, when cars are barred until 8 p.m.

Chairs and tables are set up on the bricks for people to gather and share a meal or conversation. It's a routine set to run through Nov. 1.

The initiative, dubbed "Pratt Street Patio," was the brainchild of a working group with representatives from the business and retail communities, according to City Councilman Julio Concepcion, the vice president of Hartford Partnerships with the MetroHartford Alliance.

After construction on the street wrapped in August, the group formed to brainstorm ways to promote Pratt to an audience beyond downtown office dwellers.

"We always considered it the spine of downtown, the street that connects Main Street to the central business district," Concepcion said. "It's been an iconic street, and it adds to the ambiance that we love in a vibrant city."

Some members of the group wanted it closed to motor vehicles permanently, he added. The Patio initiative was seen as a compromise, a "pilot program" to test reception to the idea of a Pratt Street without cars.

It gets nothing but glowing reviews from Rory Gale, one of the owners of Hartford Prints, an anchor business on Pratt.

"People are naturally drawn to this street when they see it," she said. "And when it's closed to traffic, it's more encouraging to them to spend more time here, to use it for more than just a throughway."

Gale said foot traffic and sales have gone up at the store, particularly on Fridays, when the extended ban on cars includes live music performances.

Her business isn't alone in that regard. Down the block, the Yon family has seen a spike in new customers and long lines at Sunberry, their take-out restaurant that serves Korean bibimbap, burritos and everything in between.

"The street has been packed every day the weather has been good," Jane Yon said Tuesday. "To me, that's evidence enough."

Her father, John, saw a similar phenomenon in the late '90s, when he worked behind a deli counter in Manhattan. When the street that deli was on closed to cars, everyone took to the pavement, to the benefit of the businesses.

Yon recognizes the program is in the early stages. But she hopes it can thrive, and maybe breathe new life into the vacant storefronts that dot Pratt.

"Any progress on this street is going to take time," she said. "We just have to give it that chance to work."